Arkansas' jobless rate steady at 7.5%

Arkansas' unemployment rate held at 7.5 percent in November as the national rate declined, officials said Friday.

The state's civilian labor force rose by 3,700 in November, a result of 4,400 more employed and 700 fewer unemployed Arkansans, Department of Workforce Services spokesman Becky Heflin said, citing U.S. Department of Labor statistics. The decline in unemployed Arkansans may reflect the jobless who have stopped looking for work, who are no longer counted as unemployed.

"The number of employed in Arkansas rose 4,400 in November, the first employment increase since May," Heflin said. "Although employment rose and unemployment declined, the change was not enough to bring down the unemployment rate.”